This 19-Year-Old Unknown Actress Just Became an '80s Cult Icon

Netflix's '80s-influenced supernatural thriller Stranger Things has earned a great deal of praise and buzz in the weeks since its premiere on the streaming service this month. The series, set in 1983, follows the kids in a small Indiana town who gather together to fight against an unspeakable evil force (along with the help of a young girl who has mysterious powers) when one of their own goes missing. Taking inspiration from a variety of films like E.T., The Goonies, Poltergeist, and Stephen King's It, the show is both an homage to a certain era's genre films and a subtle subversion of the tropes and clichés those movies introduced to narrative storytelling.

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It also features an incredible cast of young actors (and an exciting, meaty role for Winona Ryder). But the biggest standout among a great cast of characters is Barb, who has become, despite her supporting role and tragic end by the finale of the eight-episode series, a fan-favorite. People across the internet have been expressing their love for her character, the best friend of protagonist Nancy Wheeler. Vulture's Brian Moylan got to the heart of what fuels that rabid response, writing, "We are all Barb: Who wasn't that awkward teenager, worried about her station in the scholastic pecking order and trying to maintain the few friends she has even as they use her for rides in her VW and as a convenient excuse so they can sneak out for dates with boys?"

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Naturally, to understand Barb, one must go to the source. Shannon Purser, the 19-year-old actor who stepped into Barb's shoes, opened up about creating the character, the overwhelming fan response, and how getting her first acting gig in a show featuring one of her heroes was a dream come true.

Netflix

I imagine you're having an exciting week, with all the buzz that's happening. The show premiered, what, two weeks ago?

July 15, yeah.

I just finished it this week; I started watching the night it premiered, and I could tell it was the kind of thing that was going to get buzz over a couple weeks. And I love Barb so much, and what I'm realty excited about is how other people really responded to her, too. Was that kind of a surprise to you at all?

Yeah! The fan response was definitely unexpected. It's amazing, and I love it so much. I love Barb, and I love the character and I had a great time, and I thought maybe a couple people would notice me and think that she was a fun character. And then to wake up and see all these tweets and Instagram posts and all this support for her... It was so surreal, so amazing.

This is the first onscreen role you've played, so I can imagine that, too, was surreal—to be on a set like that and being a part of a big production What was it was like to go to work and do that?

Walking into not only my first production, but also one on this scale, was incredible. From the very first day I went to the studio, when I auditioned, I saw the huge soundstages and I was totally floored. I was thinking, this is the biggest thing I've ever done and how cool would it be if I actually got this? And I did! And being on these incredible sets that the crew put so much work into creating and designing, seeing the cameras and the equipment, and working with all these talented, talented people—it was overwhelming and it was amazing. It kind of confirmed this is definitely what I want to do for as long as I can.

Has it opened any other opportunities already?

I have done some other auditions in the meantime, so I'm incredibly thankful that people are noticing the character and appreciate my performance and want me to become a part of their story potentially—that really means a lot to me. I'm so thankful for the experience and how it's really helping me get noticed as an actor.

The aesthetic of the show, that throwback to the 80s—it's got some very strong references to a lot of movies that came out of that time. And even the fashions elevate Barb to this other place that people really respond to. When you were looking at wardrobe for the role, were you like, "Oh, this is such a costume, such an '80s look?"

Oh, I mean, yeah! I had such a fun time doing the fitting and trying on all these different outfits, it was incredible. I love the style from the '80s, obviously some of it is a little, you know, out there. But I've always loved the whole costuming part of acting. I think personally it really helped me get into the mindset of the character. And, yeah, sort of just thinking about the fact that people actually wore this unironically was a little funny. It's amazing, you know? I've even had conversations with my mom where she would see something on the show and be like, "I had that exact sweater!"

Natalia Livingston

Were there any movie characters from the '80s that served as a reference point to create her character?

I didn't really do a whole lot of intensive research, just because I have always already loved movies from the '80s. I loved John Hughes, I loved The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Winona [Ryder]'s earlier stuff. I think Winona is incredible, and being in the same show with her made it even more of a dream come true than it already was. I think a lot of Barb I really based on myself, because she's a pretty relatable character. A lot of it I took from my own personal experiences.

There's obviously a lot of '80s nostalgia that's driving the response to the show, but what I really loved about it was that you get to see male and female characters working together in ways that we haven't seen in a long time. Like, even in The Goonies, you saw the girls were part of that squad, or even in The Breakfast Club. In the '90s we lost that a little. All these characters feel real in ways I don't think we've seen in movies or TV in a long time.

Yeah, absolutely, I feel the same way. The show is wonderful in so many ways, and I think one of the strong points is the cast of characters. They're so well written and and created with such purpose, such intention. And the actors of course—the cast is absolutely incredible. They're all so talented and passionate about what they do. I also loved having a wide variety of ages and backgrounds, and I love all of the strong female characters in the show. It's just incredible that they found the people that they did.

In terms of the fan responses to Barb, it's been fascinating to me to watch so many different people react to her. My friend Justin Sayre has been tweeting lines from "Barb's Diary," and another friend Cole Escola made a video where he played Barb's mom when she hears what happens to her.

I saw that! I loved that video!

That cracked me up! I saw that before I finished the series, so it really destroyed me once I got to the last episode. What have been some of your favorite fan responses?

I'm so thankful for all the responses to the character. Some of my favorite things are the fan art though, I'm sort of an artist—I draw, and I've always loved art and appreciated it—so to see people coming up with their own vision for the show and the character, seeing so many amazing paintings and posters they've created… I definitely love seeing that, because that's what film does—it influences more creativity.

I know a lot of fans feel like Barb definitely didn't deserve what happens to her—they're a little distraught that Barb didn't get a better chance. If there were an alternate universe, if you could tap into Barb one more time, what do you think she would be when she grew up, had she gotten out of that small town and gone on to do something else?

One of my favorite things is hearing the alternate universes and the fan theories that people have come up with. It's funny how a lot of those caught on to me and the way I think about Barb. I tried to play her as very independent and unapologetic of who she is and confident in her logic and reasoning. I know a lot of fans have speculated that she would get into a really good college, make the most of herself in a career, and really take charge. And I could totally see that, too. She's totally a boss, and whatever she ended up doing, she would succeed in it.